Pokémon’s Facial Recognition Requirements Take Scalper Fight Too Far

Scalping is detrimental to the Pokémon Trading Card Game, there's no doubt about it, but The Pokémon Company is now taking its anti-resale measures too far. Scalpers zealously buying up stock of new releases to turn a profit is the most inauspicious aspect to the hobby, raising the barrier to entry and sometimes inciting danger to workers and other consumers. Various attempts have been made to protect the integrity of the Pokémon TCG, including purchase limits and an early access program, but the continued escalation is now entering questionable territory.

Starting at the end of the month, Pokémon Card Stores will open in Japan, coinciding with the release of the new Storm Emeralda set. These are brick-and-mortar stores specializing in Pokémon TCG products, but will also let customers browse a selection of Pokémon Center items. Five stores will open, all on July 31, and to enforce purchase limits, each one will subject potential buyers to facial recognition.

Pokémon Card Stores To Require Facial Recognition In Japan

The Pokémon Card Stores will still institute normal purchasing limits, such as a cap of one entry per day per customer, but this will also be supplemented by mandatory participation in a facial recognition system. Everyone "over elementary school age" will be subjected to a facial recognition scan "to provide a safe and secure shopping environment for all customers, crime prevention, and compliance with appropriate entry and purchase rules," according to the official Pokémon Card website (via automatic browser translation).

Participation in the facial recognition system is not optional; it is required to be issued a numbered ticket, which is linked to your identity for the day, allowing entry. The only exemption is "preschool children," who must still be accompanied by their guardian into the store. If the facial recognition system deems a customer has attempted to enter the store twice in one day, or suspects two numbered tickets have been dispensed to a single customer, entry to the store will be refused "uniformly."

In an attempt to assuage concerns, it's stated that the "face image data" acquired by the system "will be strictly and properly managed" for the purposes of store security, and will later be deleted "after a certain period of time." To a very small degree, it's admirable to see The Pokémon Company cracking down on scalpers, but facial recognition requirements to enter a store is beyond the pale.

Mandatory Facial Recognition To Buy Pokémon Cards Is Too Far

I understand the need to police scalping. An inflated retail market is genuinely harmful to the health of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, not to mention other abysmal behavior involved. Scalpers are effectively ruining the intended TCG experience for others, and I don't envy The Pokémon Company's burden in counteracting them. But subjecting your customers to a facial recognition scan just to get into a store is outrageous.

Consumers have a reasonable right to privacy, and there's really no guarantee that the data will be used responsibly, as is claimed. The breakdown of Pokémon Card Store information even notes that the guidelines, including the "handling of personal data" section, are "subject to change without notice." Face scans will be "deleted promptly" until an executive decides otherwise. Even in the best case scenario, where The Pokémon Company does not sell your personal information and wipes it soon after you've visited the store, this is still an egregious step in unnecessary surveillance.

You're telling me I need to have my face scanned to get through airport security and... to buy Pokémon cards? Obviously, scalpers are to blame, but surely this dystopic response is not the answer. This seems to be limited to just five stores, luckily, but it's still a concerning precedent. There are less invasive ways to check identification or limit entry to a store; some sort of pre-registration would be preferable, even if it inconveniences some customers.

Scalping is an issue that likely has no perfect solution. People are going to attempt exploitation of any market. I'm glad The Pokémon Company is actively trying to improve the consumer experience, but requiring facial recognition technology to buy Pokémon TCG products is ridiculous.